Question Number: 29926

Law 13 - Free Kicks 11/16/2015

RE: Competitive Adult

Jon Noble of Chicago, Il United States asks...

Hi 2 questions coming from a game I played this weekend and had a long discussion with the referee where I believe I was right but want confirmation.

1. Player A is given a free kick in his own half. Player A takes a quick free kick which player B blocks from 5 yards away by moving his leg towards the ball and breaks away at Player A's goal as the ball was blocked in that direction. Should this free kick be retaken as Player B was not the required 10 yards from the free kick or did Player A give up the right to the 10 yards because the free kick was taken quickly and the ball is then live?

2. Player A is clearly offside but runs towards the ball when it is put through the defensive line. Player B is defending and gets the ball at the same time as Player A and wins possession of the ball facing towards his own goal and is being hassled as offside Player A tries to win the ball back. Should this be an offside against Player A as they are interfering with play from an offside position or is Player A not offside as they didn't touch the ball first and are allowed to tackle player B?

Thank you in advance for your help.

Answer provided by Referee Richard Dawson

Hi Jon,
Depends on the opinion of the referee!
How did he discern the actions of the defender? The free kick optimal word is... free.. and the ten yards is a minimum distance by the way.

It is true that IF a quickly taken free kick does not provide sufficient time for an opponent to withdraw ten yards the kicker has forfeited that particular restriction once he puts the ball in play. Any opponent can then challenge for the ball. The opponent though if within ten yards, stops and moves towards the free kick... BEFORE... it has occurred, has committed a transgression and should be cautioned with the free kick being retaken! He can respond once the kick is taken, but can not move in to intercept UNTIL that occurs. Based solely on your description the kick could have been was intercepted fairly as a leg stuck out to intercept a ball seems likely a reaction to it being put into play but then I was not there to see it!

If as you say Player A was a PIOP (player in an offside position) then he can not challenge the opponent Player B for the ball. Offside, INDFK out, back where Player A became a PIOP.
If Player A was far enough away as to pose no issues, he was outside a reasonable playing distance, allowing Player B time to deliberately play the ball without interference, then no offside . Your description sounds like the PIOP impacted play by his efforts and proximity.

Cheers

Answer provided by Referee Joe McHugh

Hi Jon
As described this reads to me that the defender moved towards the ball rather than intercepting it before the kick was taken and the correct decision is a retake. It is up to the referee to decide whether to also take disciplinary action depending on the circumstances. A key factor is also to consider how the defender got to that position. Was he intent on stopping the free kick and he was moving back slowly?
On your second question it is a matter of timing and if the defender has little time to play the ball with the player in an offside position challenging him immediately then it is offside and the restart is an IDFK. If on the other hand the defender has time on the ball, moves it away then offside has passed. The skill is to know how long the defender can have on the ball before the PIOP can get involved. That is always a matter of opinion and as described in your scenario it is offside for interfering with an opponent.
Have a look at these video
https://player.vimeo.com/video/106943897
The second video is a good example. Red has ample time to play the ball which he does and the ball goes to the goalkeeper. White although he started in an offside position was well entitled to get involved again in active play as the ball was deliberately played by Red which reset the offside.